CENTENNIAL  PAMPHLET  No.  15 


The  Bible  in  Brazil 


HUGH  C.  TUCKER 


AMERICAN  BIBLE  SOCIETY 
NEW  YORK 


1916 


— H i.  . - 

SPENCER 


Universal  Bible  Sunday 


The  dominant  thought  and  aim  of  the  Centennial  celebration  of 
the  American  Bible  Society  is  the  exaltation  of  the  Word  of  God.  ’ 

In  commemoration  of  the  blessings  which  have  flowed  from  the 
Bible,  and  in  gratitude  for  the  good  hand  of  God  upon  the  Society 
throughout  the  100  years  during  which  it  has  put  forth  and  circu- 
lated the  Scriptures,  and  which  100  years  end  on  the  7th  of  May, 
1916,  it  is  requested  that  that  day  be  observed  as 

UNIVERSAL  BIBLE  SUNDAY 

In  this  observance  churches  of  many  denominations  throughout 
the  United  States  have  indicated  their  intention  to  join.  It  will  also 
be  observed  by  union  meetings  in  large  centers,  and  by  special  exer- 
cises in  Sunday  Schools,  Young  People’s  Societies  and  other  church 
organizations  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  our  great  country. 

As  the  sun  brings  light  that  day  to  our  southern  continent,  there, 
too,  will  be  gathered,  in  observance  of  this  day,- those  who  love  the 
Word  of  God.  Assurances  have  already  been  given  that  in  the  Is- 
lands of  the  Seven  Seas,  in  the  far  Philippines,  in  the  Land  of  the 
Rising  Sun,  in  Bible-loving  Korea,  in  great  seeking  China,  in  Siam 
and  India,  along  the  Persian  Gulf  and  the  Delta  of  the  Nile,  and 
even  in  war-smitten  Europe,  there  will  be  those  who  will  join  in  this 
grateful  recognition  of  the  blessings  from  The  Book. 

Will  those  who  read  these  lines  all  join  in  the  observance  of  this 
day?  Literature  to  assist  in  such  observance  may  be  had  from 

The  Secretaries,  Bible  House,  Astor  Place,  New  York  City. 


Centennial  History  of  the  Bible  Society 

• • 

The  Rev.  Henry  Otis  Dwight,  LL.D.,  the  Recording  Secre- 
tary of  the  Society,  has  for  more  than  a year  now  been  set  aside 
for  the  one  purpose  of  writing  the  Society’s  History.  It  is  a story 
of  intense  interest’  and  intrinsic  value  for  all  who  rejoice  in,  and 
watch  solicitously,  the  growth  and  development  of  our  own  country  or 
the  growth  and  development  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  the  world  over. 

It  will  be  a volume  of  about  500  pages,  with  illustrations,  and 
will  be  ready  in  March,  1916.  Cloth  bound,  it  will  be  $1;  paper 
bound,  50  cents.  The  Macmillan  Company  will  publish  it  for  the 
Society.  Orders  or  inquiries  may  be  addressed  to 

The  Secretaries,  Bible  House,  Astor  Place,  New  York  City. 


THE  BIBLE  IN  BRAZIL 


BY 

REV.  HUGH  C.  TUCKER. 

Agent  of  the  American  Bible  Society  for  Brazil 


AMERICAN  BIBLE  SOCIETY 
NEW  YORK 


1916 


A Paper  read  at  the  World’s  Bible  Congress, 
held  at  the  Panama-Pacific  Exposition,  San^Francisco,  California, 
August  1-4,  1915. 


The  Bible  in  Brazil 


For  the  first  three  centuries  of  the  history  of 
Brazil  the  Bible  was  to  the  people,  it  must  be 
conceded,  a neglected  and  forbidden  book.  It  was 
not  to  be  found  on  the  list  of  books  that  were  au- 
thorized by  the  Crown  of  Portugal  to  be  circulated 
in  Brazil  in  colonial  times.  This  fact  must  be  borne 
in  mind  in  any  attempt  to  adequately  trace  the  his- 
tory and  influence  of  the  Bible  in  the  life  of  the 
Brazilian  people.  It  was  then  to  the  early  settlers 
a forbidden  and  neglected  book,  and  to  their  de- 
scendants and  the  domesticated  aborigines  of  the 
country  it  was  almost  an  unknown  book  until  within 
the  latter  half  of  the  last  century.  A prominent 
Brazilian  priest  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  about 
the  year  1903,  wrote  as  follows: 

“ For  a long  time,  it  must  be  admitted,  the  Gos- 
pel was  for  the  Catholics  a closed  book,  an  unknown 
book,  and  for  this  reason  the  God  of  the  Gospel  is 
becoming  an  unknown  God.” 

Before  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  we 
see,  then,  this  vast  country  with  its  10,000,000  of 
inhabitants  without  the  Bible. 

Previous  to  the  year  1836  the  American  and  the 
British  and  Foreign  Bible  Societies  consigned  copies 
of  the  Scriptures  to  foreign  merchants  residing  on 
the  coast  of  Brazil,  and  these  were  judiciously  dis- 
tributed. 

In  a curious  old  book  in  the  Portuguese  language, 
entitled,  “The  Catholic  and  the  Methodist,”  written 
by  the  priest  Luiz  Goncaives  dos  Santos,  in  the 
year  1838,  there  is  a quotation  from  a letter  dated 
from  Rio  de  Janeiro,  December  23,  1837,  by  the 
Rev.  Justin  Spaulding,  in  which  he  says  he  has  al- 
ready distributed  all  the  Bibles  and  Testaments 

3 


sent  him,  and  he  is  sure  the  American  Bible  Society 
will  send  him  more.  The  writer  refers  also  to 
letters  written  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  D.  P.  Kidder,  dated 
from  Rio,  January  13  and  29,  1838,  in  which  he  re- 
ports the  sales  of  Bibles  in  Portuguese  and  Latin 
as  having  greatly  increased. 

“ A Liberal  Donation  ” ! 

The  author  has  one  paragraph  headed,  “A  Liberal 
Donation.”  It  reads  as  follows: 

“ Bible  House,  New  York,  March  9, 1838. 
“Rev.  Nathan  Bangs,  D.D.,  Cor.  Secy,  of  the 
Board  of  Missions  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church. 

“Sir:  With  this  goes  a box  containing  75  Portu- 
guese Bibles  and  25  Testaments,  a gift  from  the 
Directors  of  the  American  Bible  Society  for  your 
missionaries  in  Brazil,  etc. 

[Signed]  “Joseph  Hyde, 
“General  Agent  American  Bible  Society." 

Mr.  Kidder  reports : 

“ Copies  exposed  for  sale  and  advertised  in  the 
newspapers  found  many  purchasers,  not  only  from 
the  city  but  also  from  the  distant  provinces.  At 
the  Mission  House  many  copies  were  distributed 
gratuitously;  and  on  several  occasions  there  was 
what  might  be  called  a rush  of  applicants  for  the 
sacred  volume.  One  of  these  occurred  soon  after 
my  arrival.  It  was  known  that  a supply  of  books 
had  been  received,  and  our  house  was  literally 
thronged  with  persons  of  all  ages  and  conditions  of 
life,  from  the  gray-headed  man  to  the  prattling  child, 
from  the  gentleman  in  high  life  to  the  poor  slave. 
Most  of  the  children  and  servants  came  as  messen- 
gers, bringing  notes  from  their  parents  or  masters. 
These  notes  were  invariably  couched  in  respectful, 
and  often  in  beseeching,  language.  Several  came 
from  poor  widows  who  had  no  money  to  buy  books 

4 


for  their  children,  but  who  desired  Testaments  for 
them  to  read  at  school.  Another  was  from  one  of 
the  Ministers  of  the  Imperial  Government,  asking 
for  a supply  for  an  entire  school  out  of  the  city. 

“Among  the  gentlemen  who  called  in  person 
were  several  principals  of  colleges  and  many  students 
of  many  different  grades.  Versions  in  French  and 
also  in  English,  as  well  as  Portuguese,  were  some- 
times desired  by  amateur  linguists.  We  dealt  out 
the  precious  volumes  according  to  our  best  judg- 
ment, with  joy  and  with  trembling.  This  being 
the  first  general  movement  of  the  kind,  we  were  at 
times  inclined  to  fear  that  some  plan  had  been  con- 
certed for  getting  the  books  destroyed,  or  for  in- 
volving us  in  some  species  of  difficulty.  These 
apprehensions  were  contradicted,  however,  by  all 
the  circumstances  within  our  observation;  and  all 
who  came  made  their  errand  on  the  ground  of  its 
intrinsic  importance,  and  listened  with  deep  in- 
terest and  attention  to  whatever  we  had  time  or 
ability  to  address  to  them  concerning  Christ  and 
the  Bible. 

“ Some  instances  of  the  happy  and  immediate 
effects  of  circulating  the  Bible  came  to  our  knowl- 
edge, but  it  is  reserved  for  eternity  to  reveal  the 
full  extent  of  the  benefit.  While  subsequently 
traveling  in  distant  provinces,  I found  that  the 
sacred  volumes  put  in  circulation  at  Rio  de  Janeiro 
had  sometimes  gone  before  me,  and  wherever  they 
went  an  interest  had  been  awakened  which  led  the 
people  to  seek  for  more.” 

“Bread  Upon  the  Waters.” 

Again,  describing  a voyage  down  the  southern 
Brazilian  coast,  he  writes: 

“ The  sea  was  smooth,  the  passengers  were  all 
upon  deck,  and  the  best  of  feeling  pervaded.  Wish- 
ing to  profit  by  the  occasion,  I descended  to  my 
trunk  and  brought  up  a Portuguese  Bible,  which  I 

5 


offered  to  a passenger  on  the  conditions  laid  down 
in  the  rules  of  the  American  Bible  Society.  Only 
a few  minutes  elapsed  ere  I had  disposed  of  all  the 
volumes  of  the  Sacred  Word  which  were  at  my 
convenience,  and  on  every  side  my  fellow-voyagers 
were  reading  with  eagerness  a book  they  had 
never  seen  before.  From  time  to  time  I was  called 
upon  for  explanations,  and  I was  renewedly  con- 
vinced of  the  freedom  from  bigotry  which  is  a dis- 
tinguishing negative  quality  of  the  Brazilians.  An 
officer  of  the  Imperial  Navy  had  just  returned  from 
the  Brazilian  squadron  at  the  River  Platte,  and,  in 
seeking  the  bosom  of  his  family  at  Santos,  wished 
the  Scriptures  as  a present  for  his  children.  When 
purchasing  them  he  remarked,  ‘ Though  I am  a 
man  forty-five  years  of  age,  I have  never  before 
seen  a Holy  Bible  in  a language  which  I could  un- 
derstand.’ ” 

Friendly  and  Frank. 

In  giving  an  account  of  his  most  interesting  visit 
to  the  house  of  a Roman  Catholic  priest  in  the 
province  of  Sao  Paulo,  he  says: 

“ On  showing  me  his  library — a very  respectable 
collection  of  books — he  distinguished  as  his  favor- 
ite work  Calmet’s  Bible,  in  French,  in  twenty-six 
volumes.  He  had  no  Bible  or  Testament  in  Portu- 
guese. I told  him  that  I had  heard  that  an  edition 
with  notes  and  comments  was  about  to  be  published 
at  Rio,  under  the  patronage  and  sanction  of  the 
Archbishop.  This  project  had  been  set  on  foot  in 
order  to  counteract  the  circulation  of  the  editions 
of  the  Bible  societies,  but  was  never  carried  into 
effect.  He  knew  nothing  of  it.  He  had  heard, 
however,  that  Bibles  in  the  vulgar  tongue  had  been 
sent  to  Rio  de  Janeiro,  as  to  other  parts  of  the 
world,  which  could  be  procured  gratis,  or  for  a 
trifling  consideration.  Judge  of  the  happy  surprise 
when  I heard  from  his  lips  that  some  of  these  Bibles 
had  already  appeared  in  this  neighborhood,  three 


hundred  miles  distant  from  our  depository  at  Rio. 
His  first  remark  was  that  he  did  not  know  how  much 
good  would  come  from  their  first  perusal,  on  account 
of  the  bad  example  of  their  bishops  and  priests.  I 
informed  him  frankly  that  I was  one  of  the  persons 
engaged  in  distributing  these  Bibles,  and  endeav- 
ored to  explain  the  motives  of  our  enterprise,  which 
he  seemed  to  appreciate.” 

Mr.  Kidder  further  relates  very  interesting  inter- 
views had  with  the  Andradas,  with  Sefior  Martin 
Francisco,  President  of  the  Provincial  Assembly, 
and  with  Sr.  Antonio  Carlos,  Chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Public  Instruction.  The  latter  presented 
to  the  Honorable  Legislature,  the  Provincial  Assem- 
bly of  the  Imperial  Province  of  Sao  Paulo,  a propo- 
sition in  which  the  following  occurs : 

“Whereas,  the  New  Testament  of  our  Lord  and 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ  is  a choice  specimen  of  style, 
on  subjects  historical  as  well  as  moral  and  reli- 
gious, in  addition  to  embodying  the  pure  and  sacred 
truths  of  our  holy  Christianity,  the  knowledge  of 
which  is  of  so  high  importance  to  every  individual, 
both  as  a human  being  and  a member  of  society ; 
and, 

“Whereas,  Having  the  most  unlimited  confidence 
in  the  philanthropic  benevolence  of  said  Society  and 
its  willingness  to  co-operate  for  the  good  of  this 
country,  in  common  with  all  others,  and  especially 
in  view  of  the  happy  relations  existing  between  two 
prominent  nations  of  the  New  World — 

“Therefore,  I propose  to  guarantee  on  the  part 
of  the  said  American  Bible  Society  the  free  dona- 
tion of  copies  of  the  New  Testament,  translated 
into  Portuguese  by  the  Padre  Antonio  Pereira  de 
Figueiredo,  in  sufficient  number  to  furnish  every 
primary  school  in  the  province  with  a library  of  one 
dozen,  on  the  simple  condition  that  said  copies 
shall  be  received  as  delivered  at  the  Alfandega 
(Custom  House)  of  Rio  de  Janeiro,  and  caused  to 

7 


be  distributed  among,  preserved  in,  and  used  by,  the 
said  several  schools  as  books  of  general  reading 
and  instruction  for  the  pupils  of  the  same. 

“With  the  most  sincere  desires  for  the  moral  and 
civil  prosperity  of  the  Imperial  Province  of  Sao 
Paulo,  the  above  proposition  is  humbly  and  re- 
spectfully submitted. 

[Signed]  “ D.  P.  Kidder. 

“ City  of  Sao  Paulo,  Feb.  15,  1839.” 

The  following  reply  was  given : 

‘‘  To  Mr.  Kidder: 

“ I inform  you  that  the  Legislative  Assembly  has 
received  with  special  satisfaction  your  offer  of  cop- 
ies of  the  New  Testament,  translated  by  the  Padre 
Antonio  Pereira  de  Figueiredo,  and  that  the  Legis- 
lative will  enter  into  a deliberation  upon  the  sub- 
ject, the  result  of  which  will  be  communicated  to 
you. 

“ God  preserve  you  ! 

“ Miguel  Eufrazio  de  Azevedo  Marquez, 

Secretary. 

“ Palace  of  the  Provincial  Assembly, 

Sao  Paulo,  Feb.  20,  1839.” 

Much  to  Encourage. 

The  Rev.  James  C.  Fletcher  writes : 

“ I visited  Sao  Paulo  for  the  first  time  sixteen 
years  after  the  events  narrated  above,  and  I found 
the  same  willingness  manifested  by  all  ranks  of  so- 
ciety in  the  reception  of  the  Word  which  my  com- 
panion in  authorship  experienced  among  the  Pau- 
listas,  and  I was  thus  enabled  to  diffuse  very  many 
copies  of  Holy  Writ.  From  time  to  time,  in  this 
pleasant  portion  of  Brazil,  I found  much  to  encour- 
age my  labors  among  the  humble  and  ignorant,  as 
well  as  among  the  more  elevated  and  intelligent. 
It  was  not  less  pleasing  occasionally  to  trace  the 
working  of  the  seed  of  truth  sown  so  many  years 

8 


before  by  Dr.  Kidder.  I found  that  an  eminent 
Brazilian  had  been  won  by  the  perusal  of  the  Holy 
Bible  to  ‘ wisdom’s  ways,’  and  to  become  the  ear- 
nest advocate  of  its  circulation.  Far  in  the  interior 
of  this  province  I met  with  two  gentlemen  who  did 
not  profess  to  be  Christians,  but  who,  as  philanthro- 
pists, took  a deep  interest  in  the  Bible  cause.  One 
of  them  told  me  that  a Brazilian  came  to  him  a few 
days  before  with  a Portuguese  Bible,  saying  that  he 
was  ‘ so  rejoiced  to  have  the  Bible  in  his  own  ver- 
nacular.’ My  informant  thinks  this  must  have  come 
either  from  my  predecessor  or  from  the  Bibles  left 
at  the  house  of  an  American  merchant  in  Rio  de 
Janeiro.  I was  also  informed  by  an  English  watch- 
maker at  Campinas  that  he  had  met  with  a Brazilian 
who  had  in  his  possession  a Portuguese  Bible,  and 
that  he  took  great  pleasure  in  carrying  it  with  him 
to  the  Roman  Catholic  church  each  Sunday.” 

The  present  Protestant  missionary  movements  of 
the  various  churches  in  Brazil  originated  with  the 
arrival  of  the  first  missionaries  in  1855,  1859,  and 
1869. 

During  a period  of  about  twenty  years  of  mis- 
sionary effort,  occasional  consignments  of  Scrip- 
tures were  made  to  the  missionaries  and  others  by 
the  Bible  Societies.  The  copies  of  the  Word  then 
put  into  circulation,  in  addition  to  those  distributed 
by  merchants,  and  the  early  Methodists,  from  1836 
to  1842,  were  as  seed  sown  in  good  soil.  From  time 
to  time  Bibles  have  been  found  about  the  coast 
towns  and  far  interior  that  were  known  to  have 
been  distributed  in  Brazil  before  either  of  these 
regular  Agencies  was  established  and  the  regular 
work  of  colportage  initiated. 

The  Brazil  Agency  Established. 

The  results  achieved  in  this  way  led  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  regular  Brazil  Agency  of  the  Ameri- 
can Bible  Society  in  1876,  through  which  aggressive, 
1*  9 


systematic  colportage  and  Bible  distribution  have 
been  carried  on  for  thirty-nine  years  respectively. 
The  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  estab- 
lished its  Brazil  Agency  in  1856.  The  Ameri- 
can Bible  Society  has  caused  to  be  circulated  in 
Brazil  at  least  1,000,000  copies  of  the  Word  of 
God.  The  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  has 
circulated  a somewhat  larger  number,  and  the 
National  Bible  Society  of  Scotland,  and  others, 
together  with  private  enterprises  and  efforts,  have 
in  various  ways  during  these  years  furnished  Gos- 
pel workers  and  readers  in  Brazil  about  200,000 
copies.  We  have  then  a total  of  about  2,500,000  cop- 
ies of  the  Scriptures  put  into  the  hands  of  the  Bra- 
zilians up  to  the  close  of  the  year  1914. 

Figures  cannot,  and  words  can  only  in  part,  tell 
the  whole  story  of  the  work  done  by  the  Bible  So- 
cieties’ employees  as  they  have  gone  forth  through 
this  broad  land  for  these  many  years  scattering  the 
precious  seed.  The  story  has  in  part  been  written 
from  time  to  time  in  the  Bible  Society  journals,  the 
annual  reports  from  the  Agencies,  the  missionary 
periodicals  and  other  publications  and  literature. 
But  the  final  results  can  only  be  fully  known  in  that 
Great  Day  when  He  who  alone  is  worthy  shall  open 
that  other  book  and  loose  the  seals  thereof,  and  the 
redeemed  from  Brazil  shall  join  the  ransomed  hosts 
in  saying,  “ Unto  Him  that  sitteth  on  the  throne, 
and  unto  the  Lamb,  be  the  blessing  and  the  honor, 
and  the  glory  and  the  dominion  forever  and  ever.” 

A liberal  estimate,  based  upon  the  last  official  cen- 
sus, would  give  to  Brazil,  of  her  22,000,000  inhabi- 
tants, about  5,000,000  who  can  read.  If  every  copy 
of  the  2,500,000  circulated  had  been  preserved  and 
was  in  use  to-day,  there  would  still  be  2,500,000 
persons  who  can  read  in  Brazil  without  a copy  of 
the  Bible,  to  say  nothing  of  the  17,000,000  who  have 
no  knowledge  of  letters  as  yet.  The  mere  mention 
of  these  figures  is  sufficient  to  indicate  the  great 

10 


work  yet  to  be  done  before  each  reading  inhabitant 
of  the  country  may  possess  a copy  of  the  Scriptures. 
Substantial  progress  is  being  made  in  educating  the 
masses  and  an  ever  increasing  number  of  the  illit- 
erate 17,000,000  is  learning  to  read,  so  that  a larger 
field  opens  up  before  the  Societies  and  a weightier 
responsibility  rests  upon  these  Brazil  Agencies. 

Lamentable  Conditions. 

The  work  of  Bible  distribution  was  first  taken  up 
many  years  ago,  with  some  effort  to  understand 
existing  conditions  and  a purpose  to  overcome  the 
difficulties  in  the  way  and  to  make  throughout  the 
Empire  of  Brazil  the  widest  and  largest  possible 
distribution  of  the  written  Word  of  God.  Atten- 
tion was  then  called  to  lamentable  social  conditions, 
the  illiteracy  of  the  people,  the  fanaticism  to  be  en- 
countered, the  scarcity  of  money  in  many  sections, 
the  lack  of  transportation  facilities,  occasioning 
long,  difficult  and  expensive  journeys,  the  bad  hy- 
gienic and  health  conditions  in  a vast,  undevel- 
oped tropical  country,  and  the  lack  of  an  adequate 
version  of  the  Scriptures  in  the  Portuguese  lan- 
guage. Evangelical,  social,  political  and  economic 
influences  were  just  beginning  to  work  in  some 
measure  for  the  betterment  of  the  people  and  the 
country.  It  may  be  of  interest  to  note  how  things 
have  worked  out  along  the  lines  indicated,  and  to 
note  the  influence  the  Bible  is  having  in  the  life  of 
the  people. 

A marked  characteristic  of  the  people,  one  that 
has  by  no  means  totally  disappeared,  was  ignorance 
of  the  revealed  Word  and  Truth  of  God.  The  Bible 
was  not  only  a neglected  but  a forbidden,  and  to 
many  an  unknown,  book.  In  the  absence  of  a divine 
revelation  »s  the  rule  of  faith  and  practice,  perverted 
traditions,  rules  and  requirements,  conveniently  in- 
vented by  frail  and  erring  men,  and  false  dogmas, 
were  blindly  accepted  as  the  authentic  word  in  te- 
ll 


ligion.  As  a result,  morality  was  divorced  from 
religion  and  moral  standards  were  greatly  lowered, 
if  not  entirely  obliterated.  The  prevalent  indiffer- 
ence to  moral,  social  and  intellectual  conditions 
was  alarming.  Changes  for  the  better  have  taken 
place,  however.  Encouraging  progress  has  been 
made  by  the  agencies  working  for  good.  Increas- 
ing contact  with  the  Word  of  God  and  some  of 
the  Christian  influences  of  the  world  are  bringing 
about  wonderful  changes  in  the  thoughts  and  lives 
of  the  people.  The  Spirit  of  God  is  moving  upon 
many  minds  and  hearts,  producing  order  and  life. 

The  Testimony  of  Results. 

A brief  statement  of  the  success,  the  present 
force  and  position,  of  the  evangelical  Christian 
Church  in  Brazil  is  a testimony  to  the  power  of  the 
written  Word  of  God  when  read  and  proclaimed 
among  the  people.  Within  a little  more  than  a 
half-century  of  Bible  distribution  and  reading  there 
has  been  gathered  an  evangelical  community  of 
more  than  100  ordained  native  preachers,  between 
35,000  and  40,000  communicants,  and  25,000  Sun- 
day-school teachers  and  pupils;  there  are  more 
than  6,000  children  in  schools  and  colleges  under 
Bible  instruction;  Y.  M.  C. A. ’shave  been  organ- 
ized in  four  or  more  important  centers  and  have  a 
membership  of  more  than  2,000;  efforts  are  being 
made  to  establish  hospitals,  orphanages  and  other 
evangelical  institutions ; a number  of  the  churches 
organized  are  self-supporting  and  are  liberal  and 
enthusiastic  in  support  of  missions  in  regions  where 
the  Bible  has  not  yet  had  a chance  to  do  its  great 
work  of  enlightening  and  uplifting;  much  needed 
Biblical  literature  is  being  created  to  meet  the  needs 
of  the  growing  body  of  Biblical  Christians. 

“ It  Shall  Not  Return  Void.” 

It  is  recorded  in  the  missionary  literature  that 
12 


many  of  the  existing  congregations  in  the  country 
had  their  origin  with  one  or  more  persons  who  first 
found  the  light  from  reading  the  Sacred  Scriptures 
before  they  had  any  opportunity  to  hear  the  spoken 
message  of  salvation.  At  a far  interior  town  a 
missionary  arrived  a few  years  ago  to  find  a group 
of  seven  or  eight  persons  who  had  been  awakened, 
enlightened  and  converted  through  the  reading  of 
a Bible  left  with  one  of  them  by  a Bible  colporteur ; 
they  were  happy  in  the  knowledge  of  Christ  and 
ready  to  make  profession  of  faith;  a church  was 
soon  organized.  A Bible  colporteur  once  sold  three 
Bibles  in  another  interior  town,  and  a few  years 
later  a message  came  to  a missionary  earnestly  re- 
questing a visit  to  the  place.  When  he  arrived  he 
found  thirty- four  persons  well  instructed  in  the 
things  of  the  kingdom  and  rejoicing  in  the  love  of 
Christ.  A church  was  organized  with  these  thirty- 
four  charter  members.  Similar  incidents  can  be 
multiplied  all  over  the  country.  A characteristic 
feature  of  the  evangelistic  movement  in  Brazil  is 
the  power  and  blessing  that  rests  upon  the  reading 
and  the  investigation  of  the  written  Word  of  God, 
producing  wonderful  results  in  the  enlightenment 
and  transformation  of  human  hearts  and  lives  even 
before  the  preacher  arrives  to  speak  the  message 
and  to  instruct  men  more  perfectly  in  the  way  of 
the  kingdom.  Missionaries  and  native  men  delight 
to  bear  testimony  to  the  very  important  part  the 
circulation  and  reading  of  the  Bible  has  had  in  the 
remarkably  interesting  and  inspiring  results  indi- 
cated by  the  figures  given  above.  And  the  incidents 
just  mentioned,  with  hundreds  of  others,  furnish  elo- 
quent testimony  to  the  truth  that  this  is  indeed  the 
Word  of  God  and  that  it  has  power  unto  salvation. 

The  written  and  spoken  Word  of  the  Gospel,  at- 
tended by  the  blessing  and  power  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  has  been  the  means  of  producing  the  results 
indicated  by  the  above  figures  ; and  these  statistics 

13 


imply  great  changes  in  the  intellectual,  moral  and 
social  lives  of  the  people.  The  influences  have  ex- 
tended also  far  beyond  the  limited  circle  of  those 
included  in  these  numbers.  Education  has  been 
stimulated,  and  whereas  twenty-five  years  ago  more 
than  eighty-five  per  cent  of  the  population  was  il- 
literate, I suppose  a fair  estimate  would  now  report 
less  than  seventy  per  cent  who  cannot  read,  though 
I have  seen  the  statement  from  a prominent  Bra- 
zilian writer,  recently,  to  the  effect  that  still  about 
eighty  per  cent  are  illiterate.  There  has  been  an 
awakening  and  enlightenment  of  the  moral  con- 
science with  many,  and  the  outlook  for  progress 
and  reform  brightens.  The  educational  movement 
and  a desire  for  knowledge  is  one  of  the  most 
striking  characteristics  of  Brazilian  life  to-day. 
The  Bible  is  being  read  and  followed  as  never  be- 
fore in  the  history  of  the  nation. 

Great  Changes. 

Great  social  and  political  changes  have  taken 
place — in  the  abolition  of  slavery,  the  overthrow  of 
the  monarchy  and  the  establishment  of  a republic, 
also  in  the  decrees  and  legislation  separating  Church 
and  State,  secularizing  the  cemeteries,  instituting 
civil  marriage,  and  granting  perfect  religious  lib- 
erty to  all  alike. 

It  would  require  much  time  to  tell  of  the  marvel- 
ous industrial,  commercial,  and  economic  changes 
that  have  taken  place,  and  of  the  progress  that  has 
been  made.  The  population  has  increased  from 
about  13,900,000  to  more  than  22,000,000.  Rail- 
roads have  increased  from  7,000  kilometers  to  more 
than  26,000  kilometers,  and  there  are  4,725  kilome- 
ters under  construction,  while  7,750  are  projected. 
Telegraphs,  telephones,  electric  power  and  lighting 
service,  along  with  various  manufactures,  mining, 
and  agriculture,  have  shown  marked  development. 
Brazil’s  exports  amount  now  to  about  $300,000,000, 


while  imports  amount  to  $250,000,000.  This  bal- 
ance of  trade  in  Brazil’s  favor  would  indicate  pros- 
perity and  the  bringing  of  more  money  into  circula- 
tion. Extensive  port  improvements  have  been 
made,  and  other  schemes  are  now  being  carried  out 
to  facilitate  commerce  and  travel.  Cities  have  been 
transformed,  and  health  and  hygienic  conditions 
greatly  improved.  Many  other  features  might  be 
given  and  facts  mentioned  to  indicate  the  changes 
and  progress  made  during  these  years.  These  are 
sufficient  to  show  that  many  of  the  earlier  difficul- 
ties faced  in  the  problem  of  Bible  circulation  are 
being  removed  and  the  way  made  easier.  It 
should  be  remembered  also  that  the  circulation 
and  reading  of  the  Bible  have  helped  to  bring 
about  many  of  these  changes  and  to  make  pos- 
sible these  improvements. 

Two  Significarit  Facts. 

There  are  two  other  significant  facts  worthy  of 
mention  also.  One  is  the  notable  change  in  the  at- 
titude of  a more  liberal,  enlightened  and  progres- 
sive press  with  reference  to  the  circulation  and  read- 
ing of  the  Bible.  Twenty-five  years  ago  we  had  to 
pay  for  any  item  we  wished  to  publish  on  the  sub- 
ject, and  many  papers  would  not  print  the  items 
even  for  money.  Now  the  papers  generally  pub- 
lish whatever  reports  and  news  of  this  nature  we 
may  hand  in.  Recently  the  leading  daily  paper  of 
Rio  de  Janeiro  published  three  long  articles  that  I 
prepared  on  the  following  topics : “ The  Bible  and 
Public  Education,”  “The  Bible  and  Literature,” 
and  “ The  Bible  and  National  Ideals.” 

The  second  significant  fact  is  what  seems  to  us  a 
very  decided  change  in  the  attitude  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church  and  its  authorities  with  reference 
to  translating,  circulating,  and  reading  the  Scrip- 
tures. Express  prohibition,  denunciation,  and 
threats  of  excommunication  are  being  replaced  by 


attempts  at  translating  and  printing  the  Gospels  in 
convenient  form,  and  counsels  and  exhortations  to 
the  people  to  read  and  meditate  the  Word  of  God. 
No  less  than  four  diflEerent  attempts  have  been 
made  by  Catholic  priests  within  the  last  ten  years 
to  translate  and  circulate  the  Gospels  and  the  New 
Testament.  In  the  year  1902  the  Franciscan  monks 
of  Bahia,  with  due  ecclesiastical  authorization,  is- 
sued their  revision  of  the  Gospel  of  Matthew ; and 
in  due  time  they  completed  and  have  published  the 
whole  of  the  New  Testament,  with  copious  notes 
and  comments  from  the  best  Roman  Catholic  au- 
thors. The  following  is  a correct  translation  of 
their  preface  to  Matthew  and  Mark : 

“ It  being  proper  to  make  the  acquisition  of  the 
Sacred  Scriptures  and  the  exact  and  complete 
knowledge  of  their  texts  easy  to  the  Brazilian 
Catholics,  and  in  order  to  provide  against  the  false 
and  mutilated  Bibles  that  the  Protestant  sects  are 
scattering  so  profusely  in  the  country;  with  the  per- 
mission and  approval  of  the  Most  Excellent  and 
Most  Reverend  Lord,  Metropolitan  Archbishop  and 
Primate,  and  with  the  approval  of  the  Most  Rever- 
end Bishops  who  were  present  at  the  First  Brazilian 
Catholic  Congress,  we  undertake  to  re-edit  the 
Sacred  Bible  in  the  vernacular  tongue,  making 
use  of  existing  versions  as  far  as  they  sustain  faith- 
fulness and  clearness,  and  adding  explanatory 
notes,  abridged  from  the  Holy  Fathers,  and  Bible 
Studies  of  Eminent  Theologians,  ancient  and 
modem. 

“ The  publication  will  be  made  in  separate  por- 
tions, beginning  with  the  Gospels,  each  by  itself, 
each  little  volume  costing  a small  price  in  the  reach 
of  all,  collected  only  to  cover  the  actual  expenses  of 
printing. — Thb  Editors.” 

Striking  Sentences  by  Roman  Catholics. 

In  1903  Conego  Duarte  Leopoldo  made  a new 
16 


translation  and  arranged  what  he  entitled,  “A  Har- 
mony of  the  Gospels,  or  the  Four  Gospels  United 
in  One.”  A sentence  from  the  preface  may  be  re- 
peated here.  It  is  this  : “ The  hour  is  providential. 
The  emissaries  of  the  Bible  Societies  are  multiply- 
ing among  us,  distributing  the  Scriptures  in  the  ver- 
nacular language  with  evident  alterations.  It  is 
necessary  to  cause  to  be  read  the  Divine  Word  in 
all  its  purity,  guarded  with  all  precaution.”  The 
following  are  striking  sentences  from  the  introduc- 
tion : “ Some  think,  even  among  the  Catholics,  that 
the  Holy  Catholic  Church  forbids  to  the  faithful  the 
reading  of  the  Gospels.  This  is  an  error,  slander- 
ously circulated  by  Protestantism,  against  which  it 
is  necessary  to  react. 

“ Protestantism  teaches  that  all  the  truths  and 
faith  are  to  be  found  in  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  and 
that  we  all  have  the  right  of  interpreting  them  ac- 
cording to  the  light  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  While  com- 
bating this  dangerous  and  deadly  doctrine,  prolific 
mother  of  innumerable  extravagant  sects,  contra- 
dicting themselves,  the  Church  does  not  propose 
depriving  us  of  the  Bible,  always,  on  the  other 
hand,  considered  as  a luminous  and  most  abundant 
fountain  of  Divine  revelation. 

“ On  the  contrary,  not  only  does  the  Church  rec- 
ommend, with  importunity,  the  reading  of  the  sacred 
books,  but,  moreover,  grants  many  indulgences  to 
all  those  who  at  least  for  a quarter  of  an  hour  read 
a passage  of  the  Gospels.” 

We  quote  the  preface  by  Monsieur  Mancel  Vi- 
cente de  Silva: 

“ Certainly  there  is  no  reading  more  profitable 
for  pious  souls  than  that  of  the  Gospels.  The  read- 
ing nourishes  the  spirit  and  the  heart. 

“ Guaranteed  by  the  Church,  the  Gospels  form 
the  most  precious  book  that  can  be  had.  They 
comprise  the  Word  of  God,  the  Word  that  is  Light, 
that  is  Truth,  that  directs  the  steps  of  those  who 

17 


love  virtue,  that  civilizes  the  nations,  that  leads  to 
blessed  growth  and  eternal  life.” 

A circular  describing  and  advertising,  entitled, 
“Translation  Approved  by  Ecclesiastical  Author- 
ity, and  Enriched  with  More  than  Two  Thousand 
Notes,  the  Gospel  and  Catholic  Piety,”  makes  some 
statements  worthy  to  be  repeated : 

“ For  a long  time,  it  must  be  admitted,  the  Gospel 
was  for  the  Catholics  a closed  book,  an  unknown 
book,  and  for  this  reason  the  God  of  the  Gospel  is 
becoming  an  unknown  God. 

“ Even  among  pious  persons,  among  those  who 
most  closely  seek  to  follow  Jesus  Christ,  there  are 
very  few  who  read  the  Gospel.  They  eagerly  de- 
vour all  those  books  of  devotion  that  come  along, 
at  times  completely  useless,  and  nearly  always  of 
little  solidity  and  substance.  But  the  book  of  Jesus 
Christ,  the  precious  book  in  which  are  to  be  found 
his  teachings,  his  miracles,  his  virtues,  his  suffer- 
ings, his  divine  blood,  his  tears,  his  cross,  and 
finally  his  heart — the  book  of  the  Gospel — is  a 
closed  and  unknown  book  to  the  very  great  majority 
of  the  faithful. 

“It  is  because  an  erroneous  idea,  skillfully  used 
by  the  enemies  of  the  faith,  has  brought  to  the 
spirits  of  many  the  persuasion  that  the  Catholic 
Church  prohibits  the  reading  of  the  Bible.  This 
is  an  error  against  which  it  is  necessary  to  protest. 

“Jesus  is  truly  in  the  Sacred  Eucharist,  but  it  is 
not  alone  sufficient  to  know  that  he  is  there,  that  he 
sees  us,  that  he  looks  upon  us  with  love  and  ten- 
derness. It  is  also  necessary  that  his  voice  should 
reach  our  ears ; it  is  necessary  that  he  speak  to  our 
heart.  It  is  necessary  that  he  should  say  all  that 
his  love  has  done  for  us.  It  is  necessary,  finally, 
that  I should  know  all  that  my  love  owes  to  him, 
reading,  studying,  and  meditating  on  the  book  of 
his  Gospel. 

“The  introduction  of  the  Gospel  into  a home 
18 


causes  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  enter  into  the 
bosom  of  that  family,  and  puts  an  entire  family  into 
communion  with  the  Word  of  God. 

“ Let  us  therefore  work  for  the  Gospel.  Let  us 
take  into  the  bosom  of  every  family  this  ray  of  di- 
vine light  that  will  lead  them  securely  to  heaven. 

“ To  read  the  Gospel  with  the  spirit  of  faith  and 
humility  is  to  drink  from  its  fountain  the  omnipotent 
power  of  God.  To  propagate  the  Gospel  in  the 
homes,  contribute  to  its  becoming  a book  of  spir- 
itual reading,  a book  of  the  family,  an  indispensable 
companion,  is  to  give  to  our  neighbor  the  power  of 
God  for  the  triumph  of  the  truth.” 

Some  of  these  utterances  are  worthy  to  be 
classed  along  with  the  choicest  exhortations  to 
the  reading  of  the  Bible  that  have  ever  been  made 
by  man. 

In  a report  for  1905  we  made  the  following  state- 
ment : “ Early  in  the  present  year  a priest  of  the 
mission  in  the  College  of  the  Immaculate  Concep- 
tion, at  Rio  de  Janeiro,  completed  his  translation 
of  the  four  Gospels  from  the  Vulgate.  These  he 
has  printed  and  placed  on  sale,  together  with  Sar- 
mento’s  translation  of  Carrier’s  French  paraphrase 
of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.”  In  his  preface  to  this 
work  the  Cardinal  Archbishop  of  Rio  de  Janeiro 
says,  “ At  the  moment  in  which  we  write  these 
words  of  approval  and  apology  of  the  work  of 
popularizing  the  reading  of  the  Holy  Gospels,  we 
judge  it  convenient  to  make  them  very  clear,  that 
thus  our  attitude  can  never  be  confounded  with  the 
propaganda  that  our  separated  brethren,  the  Prot- 
estants, are  very  actively  making.  No;  they,  faith- 
ful to  their  principles,  wish  to  substitute  the  Gos- 
pels for  the  Church  ; they  claim  to  find  directly  and 
exclusively  in  the  Gospels  the  dogma  of  faith  and 
the  rules  of  living. 

“ The  Gospel  is  the  best  book  for  devotion ; let 
pious  souls  read  it  with  devout  reflection.  It  is  a 

19 


book  of  religious  instruction  that  the  Church  places 
in  our  hands,  but  whose  authoritative  interpretation 
she  reserves  to  herself.  Let  it  be  read  with  sim- 
plicity and  loving  respect ! Let  us  read  from  this 
day  forward  more  assiduously  the  Holy  Gospels, 
we  the  ministers  of  Jesus  Christ;  and  let  them  be 
the  inspiration,  the  soul,  and  the  sweet  odor  of 
preaching. 

“We  trust  the  future  clergy  may  be  trained  in  this 
school,  that  our  seminary  students  may  know  this 
treasure  and  familiarize  themselves  with  this  divine 
book,  that  every  one  of  them  may  possess  a copy  of 
the  Holy  Gospels. 

“ All  Catholic  families  should  have  in  their  homes 
the  book  of  the  Holy  Gospels ; they  should  read  it 
in  common  and  meditate  upon  it.  Let  all  pious 
souls  take  to  their  charge  this  holy  and  regenerating 
mission  of  propagating  among  all  classes  of  society 
the  reading  of  the  Holy  Gospels.” 

In  the  year  1912  the  results  of  the  fourth  attempt 
appear;  it  is  the  work  of  the  priest,  Josd  de  Senna 
Freitas,  and  has  the  imprimatur  of  the  Cardinal  Arch- 
bishop. The  translator  says  in  his  preface  that,  after 
much  thought  and  reflection,  he  decided  not  to  use 
extensive  notes  and  comments,  but  only  such  as  he 
thought  “ indispensable  or  largely  useful  to  explain, 
clarify,  or  to  justify  the  sense  of  the  sacred  Author, 
ofttimes  ambiguous  and  obscure.  Friend,  open 
this  book  and  read  it.  For  all  it  is  of  supreme 
utility.  And  if  you  are  married  call  your  family 
around  you  and  read  it  to  them.  Take  care,  do  not 
let  it  remain  only  on  the  shelves.  If  the  Gospel  of 
God  should  be  an  unknown  book,  with  all  certainty 
the  God  of  the  Gospel  will  be  an  unknown  God.” 

Scriptures  for  the  Blind  in  Portuguese. 

A few  years  ago  our  attention  was  called  to  the 
fact  that  not  one  of  the  Gospels  had  ever  been 
printed  in  raised  characters  for  the  blind.  A spe- 

20 


cial  grant  was  obtained  from  the  American  Bible 
Society  and  the  work  of  preparing  the  Gospel  of 
John  was  begun  early  in  the  year  1900  and  com- 
pleted about  July. 

The  work  of  binding  and  printing  was  done  in  the 
Benjamin  Constant  Institute  for  the  Blind  at  Rio  de 
Janeiro,  an  establishment  supported  by  the  govern- 
ment. In  the  time  of  the  monarchy  this  institution 
was  completely  under  the  control  of  the  priests,  and 
it  would  have  been  absolutely  impossible  for  a 
Protestant  Bible  society  to  have  such  a work  done 
there.  In  the  first  five  years  of  the  republic  it  was 
under  the  direction  of  the  Positivists,  who  were 
scarcely  more  tolerant  than  the  priests.  They  re- 
fused absolutely  to  do  the  work  for  us,  on  the 
ground  that  no  religion  was  permitted  in  the  insti- 
tution. With  the  change  of  the  form  of  govern- 
ment the  pendulum  seemed  in  this  instance  to 
swing,  sure  enough,  to  the  other  extreme.  How- 
ever, things  finally  struck  an  equilibrium  and  we 
encountered  no  opposition  whatever  this  time  in 
making  the  contract  for  the  work.  It  is  a signifi- 
cant fact  that  in  this  land  of  (former)  religious  in- 
tolerance, things  have  so  changed  that  a Protes- 
tant Bible  society  can  now  have  the  Bible  printed 
in  a government  institution.  It  was  quite  a sur- 
prise to  me,  also,  that  when  the  work  was  done  the 
director  of  the  school  gave  permission  to  offer  the 
Gospel  to  all  of  the  professors  and  students,  eighty- 
some-odd  in  number.  Nearly  half  of  them  gladly 
accepted  copies.  This  is,  so  far  as  I know,  the  first 
effort  that  has  been  made  to  print  the  Scriptures  in 
Portuguese  for  the  blind.  The  system  used  is  the 
Braille  Point. 

The  work  was  highly  commended  by  the  daily 
papers  of  Rio  de  Janeiro,  and  has  met  with  great 
favor.  Three  hundred  copies  were  printed,  and 
about  two-thirds  of  them  were  very  soon  in  the 
hands  of  the  blind.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  all  the 


work  of  setting  the  type,  printing  and  binding  was 
done  by  the  blind  themselves.  The  only  thing  a 
man  with  sight  had  to  do  with  the  edition  was  to 
read  to  the  blind  the  original,  while  he  wrote  it 
down  for  the  typesetters.  One  or  two  of  the  Catho- 
lic papers  denounced  the  work  and  the  director  of 
the  Institute  in  most  violent  terms,  and  at  once 
called  for  a public  subscription  for  the  purpose  of 
printing,  as  the  editor  said,  a true  edition  of  the 
Gospel  of  John  for  the  blind.  This  must  of  course 
contain  the  notes  and  explanations  of  the  Catholic 
Church. 

Prominent  Brazilians  on  the  Backwardness  of 
Brazil,  and  on  the  Bible. 

There  recently  appeared  in  print  an  interesting 
article  entitled,  “ What  Our  Forefathers  Read,” 
from  the  pen  of  a prominent  Brazilian  writer.  He 
says  that  the  Portuguese,  as  all  Catholic  people, 
have  always  read  very  little,  and  even  to-day  they 
are  very  small  readers.  He  then  speaks  of  the 
French,  in  comparison  with  the  Germans,  English, 
and  Americans  as  regards  the  habit  of  reading,  and 
adds:  “If  the  French,  notwithstanding  they  are 
Catholic,  yet  read  considerable,  it  is  due  not  only  to 
the  direct  inheritance  of  Latin  culture  and  the 
Renaissance,  but  to  the  influence  of  Calvinism — 
very  strong  there  in  the  sixteenth  century — and  also 
to  the  spirit  of  Gallican  independence.  For  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  the  Reformation,  by  the  obligation 
imposed  upon  the  faithful  to  read  the  Bible,  to 
which  Latin  Catholicism  has  always  been  hostile, 
created  in  modern  Europe  the  habit  of  reading. 
And  this  explains  why  the  Protestant  nations  have 
much  more  this  habit  than  the  Catholics.  To  learn 
to  read  is  to  the  Protestant  a religious  culture  ; he 
depends  almost  exclusively  on  the  reading  of  the 
Bible.  For  the  Catholic  it  is  unnecessary,  as  the 
oral  lesson  suffices  for  his  religious  edification, 

22 


even  though  given  in  a language  he  does  not  un- 
derstand.” In  a few  striking  paragraphs  the  writer 
attributes  Brazil’s  backwardness  in  education  to  the 
Jesuits  and  Catholicism  in  general.  In  a later  arti- 
cle he  says,  “The  real  causes  why  we  read  so  little 
are  those  given  in  my  previous  article,  ‘ The  Influ- 
ence of  Catholicism,’ — after  the  Reformation  hos- 
tile to  reading  and  distrustful  of  books.” 

Another  Brazilian  author  of  note  wrote  about  the 
time  the  Bible  Societies  were  undertaking  the  re- 
cently completed  New  Translation  of  the  Bible: 

“ For  a long  time  there  has  been  felt  the  urgent 
necessity  of  a faithful  version  of  the  Sacred  Scrip- 
tures in  Portuguese,  translated  directly  from  the 
original  tongues,  in  order  to  keep  a clear  meaning 
of  the  Divine  Word.”  A Brazilian  writer  of  re- 
nown says,  “ It  is  certain  that  no  language  so  much 
needs  a new  translation  of  the  Bible,  in  accordance 
with  the  most  recent  knowledge  acquired  in  He- 
brew and  Greek  philology,  lexicology,  and  archae- 
ology, as  ours.  It  is  a need  that  among  zealous 
Protestants  has  already  been  recognized. 

“ There  are  two  principal  versions  of  the  Bible 
in  the  vernacular  language  that  are  in  use  among 
us  : One  translated  from  the  original  text,  in  1748, 
by  Joao  Ferreira  d’ Almeida,  minister  of  the  gospel 
in  Batavia,  with  the  help  of  the  Hollander,  Jacob  ob 
den  Akker ; the  other  taken  from  the  Latin  Vulgate 
in  1783,  by  the  priest  Antonio  Pereira  de  Figueire- 
do.  It  is  well  known  that  the  Bible  Societies  ex- 
pend considerable  sums  of  money  in  the  distribu- 
tion of  the  Divine  Word,  making  use  of  these  two 
versions,  seeing  that  they  are  the  only  ones  of  the 
entire  Bible  in  the  Portuguese  language  that  can 
be,  up  to  a certain  point,  taken  advantage  of  for 
this  purpose.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  neither 
one  of  them  answers  fully  to  the  deserving  and 
Christian  desires  and  efforts  of  Protestants,  for  not- 
withstanding the  many  and  different  revisions  that 

23 


have  been  made  of  one  and  of  the  other,  they  do  not 
and  never  will  correspond  to  the  merits  of  the  di- 
vinely-inspired Book. 

“The  version  of  Almeida  is  not  pre-eminent  for 
fidelity  to  the  original,  nor  for  purity  and  correct- 
ness of  language.  The  version  of  Figueiredo  has 
all  the  defects  of  its  vitiated  origin,  which  is  the 
Latin  Vulgate,  and  only  has  advantage  over  the 
other  version  in  better  and  less  harsh  language, 
but  withal  it  is  inferior  to  it  in  fidelity,  as  any  in- 
terested reader  may  find  by  comparing  the  texts.” 

The  new  version  of  the  New  Testament  first 
issued  by  the  two  Bible  Societies  in  the  year  1910 
has  met  with  encouraging  favor  and  the  text  of  the 
entire  Bible,  now  ready  for  publication,  is  looked  for 
with  eager  interest.  But  another  paper  for  the 
Bible  Congress  treats  of  versions  in  the  Portuguese 
language. 

We  give  these  quotations  and  cite  these  facts  in 
no  spirit  of  harsh  or  unbrotherly  criticism,  but  to 
bring  before  our  listeners  some  idea  of  the  influence 
of  Bible  distribution  and  Bible  reading  in  Brazil, 
and  the  extent  to  which  many  in  the  Roman  Catho- 
lic Church  and  in  the  world  of  letters  are  being  im- 
pressed and  awakened.  The  movement  is  mar- 
velous. 

The  translation,  circulation,  and  reading  of  the 
Bible  is  a work  potent  with  influences  that  are 
calculated  to  revolutionize  Brazilian  literature  and 
learning,  and  to  lead  the  nation  to  the  feet  of 
Jesus  Christ,  the  Light  and  Life  of  the  World. 
Already  the  great  movement  is  fairly  under  head- 
way ; it  must  be  strengthened,  and  prayerfully,  per- 
sistently and  patiently  pushed  forward. 

Influence  of  the  Word  in  Brazil’s  Advance. 

Another  significant  fact  is  that  the  whole  reli- 
gious movement  in  Brazil  is  being  focused  more 
and  more  about  the  written  Word.  The  Bible  So- 

24 


cieties  are  doing  a work  of  incalculable  good  in  this 
line.  They  are  preparing  the  way  for  a great  re- 
ligious revival  or  awakening  along  the  lines  of 
Scriptural  doctrine  and  truth.  Indeed,  as  above  in- 
dicated, the  awakening  is  already  in  process  of  de- 
velopment. Whereunto  it  will  lead  no  man  can  tell. 
It  encourages  the  heart,  gives  a thrill  of  interest, 
and  stirs  all  that  is  highest  and  best  in  Christian 
workers,  to  see  the  religious  question  being  pro- 
jected on  the  higher  plane  of  Scriptural  truth  and 
along  the  lines  of  intellectual  culture.  The  move- 
ment is  becoming  all  the  time  more  Scriptural  and 
spiritual.  There  is  every  reason  and  encourage- 
ment for  pushing  forward  the  work.  The  truth 
must  awaken  and  win  the  hearts  of  the  people. 
There  can  be  no  fear  as  to  what  the  results  may 
finally  be  if  the  mind  and  heart  of  the  Brazilian  na- 
tion can  be  attracted  to  the  Holy  Scriptures  as  the 
real  and  authoritative  source  of  the  truth  concern- 
ing Christ  and  the  salvation  he  oflEers. 

The  religious  literature  and  thought  of  the  coun- 
try are  full  of  expressions  concerning  the  infallible 
voice  in  matters  of  religion,  and  the  people  have 
for  centuries  been  educated  in  this  phraseology. 
Now,  for  a half-century,  the  Bible  colporteurs  and 
missionaries  have  been  going  through  the  land 
calling  attention  to  the  infallible  and  all-sufficient 
Book  of  Divine  Revelation ; thousands  who  desire 
certainty  are  turning  to  the  Bible,  testing  its  truths 
by  experience  and  finding  its  message  to  be  the 
power  of  God  unto  the  salvation  of  their  souls. 

We  have  related  a few  incidents,  and  we  might 
give  literally  thousands,  of  remarkable  or  striking 
importance,  that  show  the  power  of  the  Bible  to 
awaken,  enlighten,  and  lead  men  to  Christ. 

The  Bible  Proves  Its  Value. 

It  becomes  clear  also  from  this  movement  in  Bra- 
zil that  the  Bible  proves  its  spiritual  value  to  the 

25 


experience  of  those  who  read  and  meditate  its  di- 
vine truths.  Marked  characteristics  of  most  of  the 
converts  to  Bible  reading  are  their  love  for  the 
Word,  the  simplicity  of  their  faith  in  its  declara- 
tions and  the  joy  of  soul  in  the  revelation  of  its 
contents  to  their  experience.  The  Bible  is  being 
appreciated  as  a book  of  devotion  to  a very  re- 
markable degree  by  those  to  whom  it  is  so  new  and 
fresh.  At  the  same  time  there  are  signs  among 
the  more  highly  educated  that  devotional  reading 
is  being  accompanied  by  scholarly  interpretation. 
The  Bible  is  attracting  the  attention  of  men  of  let- 
ters, and  men  in  the  Church  are  learning  that  the 
study,  investigation,  interpretation  and  teaching  of 
its  sublime  truths  and  messages  are  worthy  of  the 
very  highest  scholarship. 

The  Bible  is  finding  its  way  into  the  councils  and 
courts  of  the  country  and  beginning  already  to  ex- 
ert its  influence  upon  the  legislation  and  laws  of  the 
republic.  It  may  not  be  too  much  to  express  the 
belief  that  the  time  will  come  when,  if  enemies 
would  attempt  to  overthrow  the  civil  government 
and  social  institutions  of  Brazil,  they  will  have  to 
follow  the  example  of  the  Roman  Empire,  when,  in 
order  to  destroy  Christianity,  it  was  found  neces- 
sary to  make  a direct  attack  on  the  Bible.  This 
Book  of  God  is  extending  its  silent  and  revolution- 
izing influences  upon  the  hearts  and  lives  of  many 
individuals  and  is  beginning  to  rule  the  homes  of 
an  increasing  number  of  families.  Bible  texts  in 
large  letters  and  on  beautiful  cards  for  the  walls  are 
highly  prized  and  constantly  sought  after. 

The  faculty  of  memory  is  strongly  developed 
among  the  Brazilians,  and  thousands  are  literally 
hiding  the  Word  of  God  in  their  hearts.  This 
precious  seed  will  continue  to  yield  an  increasing 
harvest  as  the  seasons  roll  around. 

The  Bible  is  in  the  struggle  with  modern  com- 
mercialism and  industrialism  in  Brazil,  and  is  seek- 

26 


ing  to  impress  upon  the  people  its  ideas  and  views 
of  the  world  and  of  life.  The  country  is  rich  in 
natural  resources  and  material  possibilities.  Capital 
and  skill  are  finding  great  fields  for  investment 
and  activity.  The  movement  of  the  Bible  circu- 
lation seeks  to  offset  the  undue  influences  of  ma- 
terialism and  the  materialistic  view  of  the  world 
and  life. 

It  is  clear  also  to  observers  in  this  field  that  the 
reading  of  the  Bible  is  beginning  to  awaken  inter- 
est in  the  study  and  investigation  of  history  and 
travel,  especially  to  Bible  lands. 

The  large  number  of  languages  into  which  the 
Bible  has  been  translated,  the  beautiful  and  attrac- 
tive and  convenient  styles  in  which  it  is  printed 
and  bound,  and  the  very  reasonable  or  low  prices 
at  which  it  is  sold  are  constant  wonders  to  the 
masses  of  the  people  and  induce  many  to  buy  and 
read  copies. 

Spoken  witli  Simplicity  and  Earnestness. 

In  a recent  conversation  with  perhaps  the  most 
distinguished  Brazilian  of  the  day,  who  is  himself 
an  earnest  and  devout  Bible  reader  and  constant 
student,  I had  occasion  to  ask  him  what  he  consid- 
ers the  most  essential  things  for  the  evangelization 
of  Brazil.  His  answer  was,  after  a moment  of 
thought  and  reflection : “ First,  circulate  the  Bible  ; 
second,  prepare  a native  ministry.” 

He  spoke  with  great  simplicity  and  earnestness 
of  his  faith  in  the  power  of  the  written  Word  of 
God.  Among  others  he  related  the  incident  of  his 
cook,  a mulatto  boy,  who  became  interested  in  the 
Bible  through  a little  Gospel  he  saw  on  the  table 
while  dusting  in  the  doctor’s  library.  The  doctor 
gave  him  one  or  two  copies.  He  began  attending  the 
Methodist  Church  near  by,  and  became  a member. 
Later  he  -.learned  typesetting,  and  is  now  foreman 
in  charge  of  one  of  the  large  printing  machines  of 


the  Jornal  do  Commercio . He  lives  some  distance 
from  the  church  but  attends  regularly. 

The  doctor  laid  great  emphasis  on  the  training  of 
natives  for  the  ministry,  giving  them  good  colle- 
giate education  and  then  training  and  instruction  in 
Biblical  theology. 

It  augurs  well  for  the  future  of  Brazil  that  her 
leaders  clearly  recognize  and  fearlessly  point  out 
the  defects  of  the  past,  the  need  of  the  present,  and 
the  part  which  the  Bible,  having  taken  in  other 
and  progressive  nations,  should  be  enabled  to  take 
in  this  land  of  possibilities  and  promise. 


28 


CENTENNIAL  PAMPHLETS 


SMALL  QUARTO  (7>^x8^) 

1 The  Bible,  the  Book  of  Mankind,  by  Prof.  B.  B. 

Warfield,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

2 The  Bible  in  Europe,  by  Prof.  A.  Kuyper,  D.D., 

LL.D.,  of  Holland. 

3 The  Greek  Testament,  The  Ecumenical  Patriarch 

of  Constantinople  with  the  collaboration  of  the  Bishop 
of  Nicea,  the  Bishop  of  Sardis  and  the  Bishop  of 
Seleucia. 

4 The  Hebrew  Bible,  by  Rev.  S.  B.  Rohold,  F.R.G.S., 

of  Toronto. 

5 The  Birthplace  of  the  Bible  Society,  and  other  his- 

torical papers. 

Centennial  Bulletins.  To  appear  at  intervals  with  in- 
formation about  Centennial  preparations  and  plans. 

SMALL  OCTAVO  (Sx7X) 

10  The  Bible  Among  the  Nations,  by  Rev.  Henry  Otis 

Dwight,  LL.D. 

11  Around  the  World  for  the  Centennial,  illustrated, 

by  Rev.  William  Ingraham  Haven,  D.D. 

12  The  American  Bible  Society  in  China,  by  Rev. 

John  R.  Hykes,  D.D. 

13  The  Bible  in  Korea,  by  Rev.  George  Heber  Jones,  D.D. 

14  The  Bible  in  the  Life  of  the  Indians  of  the  United 

States,  by  Rev.  Thomas  C.  Moffett,  D.D. 

15  The  Bible  in  Brazil,  by  Rev.  Hugh  C.  Tucker. 

16  Mr.  Penzotti’s  Autobiography. 

17  Bible  Work  in  the  Phiiippine  Islands. 

18  A Quarter  Century  in  Siam. 

19  A List  of  Grants-in-Aid  in  India. 


Single  copies  of  these  pamphlets  may  be  had,  postpaid,  for 
.5  cents  each;  in  quantities  of  10  or  more  at  3 cents  each. 
Order  from 

The  Secretaries,  American  Bible  Society,  Astor  Place, 
New  York  City,  or  from  Agency  Secretaries, 


